Charges against a man accused of starving and neglecting a horse were dropped Thursday following a judge's order to suppress evidence in the case last month.

Earlier this year, an emaciated horse was seized by animal control officers from a dilapidated barn on Cherryville Road.

The animal was near death.

Roy Lee Dedmon was charged with two misdemeanor animal cruelty charges, and the horse was taken in by the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina in China Grove.

Over the following months, a string of court appearances followed, and the case was continued multiple times.

On Nov. 2, Judge K. Dean Black ordered that all evidence in the case be suppressed as a result of the warrant-less search and seizure of the horse.

According to the order to suppress, "the animal in question was seized pursuant to an investigative order," and no criminal search or seizure order was sought by animal control authorities.

'The best possible resolution under the circumstances'

Assistant District Attorney Bill Bozin, who handled the case, said Thursday the District Attorney's Office dismissed the animal cruelty and abandonment charges in exchange for Dedmon surrendering his ownership rights to the animal.

"Given the fact that important evidence was suppressed in this case...this was the best possible resolution under the circumstances," Bozin wrote in an email to The Star.

Bozin said the office considered making a motion to have the case reviewed by a superior court judge to determine the validity of the suppression order or trying the case in district court without the suppressed evidence, but decided against it.

"...We were not sufficiently satisfied that these options would be successful," Bozin wrote. "It was not worth the risk of the horse being returned to Mr. Dedmon in the event that the state was unsuccessful with its prosecution."

Bozin said an important point is that the horse will continue to be well cared for and has a safe home.

Dedmon's attorney, Fred Flowers, said Dedmon was ready to tell his side of the story and recommended The Star contact him.

Multiple phone calls by The Star to Dedmon's home were not returned Thursday.

'We don't want to see this happen again to another animal'

Following the release of photos of the horse, since re-named Baby, the case has attracted attention from animal advocates in the community and beyond.

The photos show pictures of a skeletal horse, patches of fur missing from her body.

Each time Dedmon was scheduled to appear in court, the benches were full of Baby's supporters.

Marguerite Mebane, president of the Cleveland County Humane Society, was one of the champions of the horse and kept people updated on the latest developments in the case via Facebook.

She said Thursday she feels the District Attorney's Office made the right decision.

"I'm thrilled that Baby is not coming back to Mr. Dedmon," Mebane said. "That's the ultimate result we had hoped for."

She said the horse is thriving at the Horse Protection Society.

"Our only concern now is that we don't want to see this happen again to another animal," Mebane said. "We hope that Animal Control will follow Mr. Dedmon very closely to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Bozin wrote that hopefully the case will bring awareness to the proper care of animals.

"When individuals are unable to care for their animal, they need to contact Animal Control about their situation," he said. "Cases in which animals are intentionally mistreated or neglected will continue to be prosecuted by our office."